Check out an interview with the author... Mind of Mine by C. F. E. Black (Tour Launch & #Giveaway) #MOMPrism

Ray Bradbury is my writing muse. I was teaching Fahrenheit 451 to my ninth graders, and the desire to finally write this sci-fi novel I’d been carrying around in my head for years just wouldn’t settle. I wanted to try my hand at the kind of jarring, question-everything kind of writing he used in Fahrenheit 451. I know I’m nowhere close to his brilliance, but I love that I got the chance to try!

When that school year was drawing to a close, I penned the first few chapters (which changed very little over the course of editing for the next few years). Not long after that, I very nearly almost died, and when I had recovered, the determination to finally complete a novel was cemented. I finished the novel a few months later and began the hefty editing process. This process ended up taking me years because I went back to work full time after finishing the manuscript. But I did not give up. I kept submitting, kept polishing, kept hoping and praying that the Lord would use this book and my writing in some way, if it pleased Him. And here we are!

What motivated you to write this particular story?

Two reasons: First, I fell in love with the characters and the idea of sharing thoughts. I just couldn’t get the characters out of my head once they arrived. Second, I want to encourage teenagers. I have been working with teenagers since I graduated from college, and I just can’t explain how great they are to work with every day. They deserve all the love and encouragement we can give them, and I hope my books do that. I hope this book in particular tells teenagers that they matter, that their thoughts and opinions matter, and that (really important to me) they take the time to consider how they define themselves.

What do you hope readers take with them after they’ve read it?

Hopefully a great experience. I hope they get lost in the characters like I do. Reading, after all, is for fun! But I also hope they see themselves in the characters, and that they feel validated by them. I also hope the book sparks a few conversations (even if just in the reader’s minds) about what life would be like if someone could read our thoughts!

Do you have a favorite scene that you can share with us?

Probably the last scene—which I won’t share now! But there is one other scene that jumps out to me as my favorite. It’s when my main character, V, and Marcus are sitting on the rooftop under an infinite sky and a cold breeze that counter the locked doors and the tension all around them in their lives at the Center. The emotion in that scene rolled out of me—I felt like I was there talking to Marcus. A lot of what V says in the book is cloaked in ambiguity, which I think offers a way for readers to dig into her character and find what they want. But this is the scene when she finally speaks her mind. It doesn’t exactly go the way she’d hoped either, as is often the case in real life.

If you could sum the book up in one sentence, what would you say?

It’s actually a quote from a character in the book, but here you go: “What we have to watch out for is what we let ourselves love.”

Share something about you that is unique - maybe about how/where you write... or favorite snack foods?

Now that I’m a mom (finally!), I write mostly at local coffee shops (no little hands reaching for me). I also love to listen in on the conversations around me at the coffee shop (yep, I eavesdrop!). The things people talk about are often wildly entertaining and unusual. My favorite snack food is chips and salsa. I could live off of that and avocados. Something about me that sort of breaks the “stoic writer” persona of mine is that I adore dancing. I love to turn up music with a good beat and go crazy in my kitchen. Also, Indian food is a gift from God.

Raised to put science over self, V must link her brain with fifteen other people, making her one of the world’s smartest humans. With this privilege comes a life dedicated to continual research inside a secluded facility, a life devoid of freedom.

But V is losing her identity and unable to predict which face will peer back at her from the nearest mirror. Escaping this life will mean freedom to think for herself—and abandoning everything and everyone she’s known and loved.

When your thoughts and speech are no longer private, freedom comes at a price. But for V the price may be her life.

Seven days a week I seek to shine light into the world-darkened lives of young people, whether it be in a high school Spanish class, a youth group Sunday school class, or a coffee shop with my computer writing my next book.

I want my writing to be a bright spot on a dark shelf, a source of truth among many lies. You guys deserve books like this.

I live in north Alabama with my son, two droopy hound dogs, a cat named Sprinkles, and my superhero husband. No, really, he saved my life once. It’s a cool story.

If you want to know more about me, my writing, or my escapades as a teacher, please visit my blog.

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About Tressa

Welcome to Wishful Endings! This is where I geek out about all things bookish (mostly YA, but also Romance, Christian Romance, LDS Romance, and occasionally other genres and hobby titles)! I always include content info in my reviews so you know what you're diving into. I enjoy helping publishers and authors promote their books as co-owner of Prism Book Tours. Outside of blogging, I'm a total Marvel geek, Austen lover, and enjoy hanging with the family (husband, four kiddos, and pup).

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